this & that

well it happened.  Ava came down with her first cold.  And we were so close to making it through january unscathed.  oh well, i really can't complain as so far she hasn't really let it get her down and has spent most of the weekend smiling through it.

a word on sunday's cake, if i may.  i make this banana cake ALL the time.  it is my husband's favourite and happily it is one of the easiest cakes to throw together.  i use nigella's recipe but i never add the sultanas and i often throw in some chocolate chips or chunks {in my opinion most cakes are improved by the addition of chocolate}. i think it is close to impossible to ruin this cake.  my husband loves it so much in fact that he will intentionally buy more bananas than we can eat in one week, knowing that overly ripe bananas make the best, most moistest cake.  and here's a little tip, you can freeze bananas.  yep!  when i have only one or two black bananas hanging around {not the requisite three} i stow them in the freezer until i have a trio then defrost by leaving out in a bowl for a few hours {or i microwave them briefly if i'm disorganised.  so most of the time}.  i should warn you though that the insides look pretty gross when thawed, but fear not, they make the cake oh so good.

as Ava recently hit the 9 months mark {yikes 1 is close!} i thought it mandatory to buy her some new clothes.  i found a sale on the little bird range that jools oliver does for mothercare online and couldn't resist buying her some of their gorgeous retro looking pieces.  i was decidedly optimistic in going for spring/summer-ish pieces, hoping some colour would pep up this drab january weather.  and if the weather stays stubbornly wintery, i'll just crank up the heating so she can wear them around the house.

so above are glimpses of the goings on in this little house of late:

// 1. 2. & 3 Ava in her new floral tunic from little bird - i paired it with wooly tights to make it more wintery
// 4. this week's sunday cake
// 5. i nabbed this vintage mug/jug type thing today when on the hunt for something to put my most used utensils in so i don't have to rummage around my overflowing drawer each time.  i'm all about doing very small things to make my life easier at the moment!
// 6. we had a craving for pink gins this weekend {rather a summery drink but we fancied it for some reason}.  they were good and made all the more fun by drinking them from these kitsch glasses.